An Apologetical Explanation of

Apostolic Succession

What is Apostolic Succession?

Jesus answered [Simon Peter], “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  (Mt 16:17-19)

They cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles.  (Acts 1:26)

Apostolic Succession describes how the teaching and governing authority of the Church, established by Christ himself through his Apostles under the leadership of and in communion with St. Peter, has been handed down through the centuries in the Catholic hierarchy.

When Christ established his Church as the one assembly of God’s faithful people, he gave her a visible structure and hierarchy.  He did this by selecting Twelve Apostles to serve as her first bishops, and from among these men he chose St. Peter as their head, the “Rock” upon which he would build his Church.  Christ “formed [his Apostles] after the manner of a college or a stable group, over which He placed Peter chosen from among them” (LG 19; cf. Lk 6:13; Jn 21:15-17).  In giving St. Peter the “keys to the kingdom,” Christ appointed his chief Apostle as his vicar, his source and sign of ecclesial unity on earth.”  Just as in the Gospel… St. Peter and the other apostles constitute one apostolic college, so in a similar way the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are joined together” (LG 22; cf. CIC 330).  St. Peter and the Apostles would teach in Christ’s name under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who guarantees that the Church’s teaching authority (Magisterium) will always be protected against doctrinal error.  (Cf. CCC 85-88, 830-834, 936)

Soon after Christ had ascended to Heaven, the Apostles recognized the need to appoint successors.  They knew that the mission Christ entrusted to them was to continue beyond their deaths and endure until the Second Coming, so they elected St. Matthias to take the place of Judas.  Later, Christ himself called St. Paul to be an Apostle.  Sts. Timothy and Titus were also among the first men designated and ordained to share in the apostolic mission.  (Cf. CCC 77, 883-896, 1087)

The early Fathers of the Church such as Pope St. Clement I (d. ca. AD 99) testify to this succession (cf. I Clement, 44:1-3).  All Catholic bishops today assume their office through episcopal consecration and trace their authority in an unbroken line to the original Apostles of first-century Christianity.  The Pope himself is a direct successor to St. Peter.  (Cf. CCC 1555-1560, 1576)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 880.

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